


Safe - A Sirius Black Oneshot

by Should_be_sleeping



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 21:00:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13912119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Should_be_sleeping/pseuds/Should_be_sleeping
Summary: Having run away from his parents' house, Sirius Black ends up at the Potters. There he comes face to face with what actual parenting looks like.OrSirius breaks a vase and is comforted by Mrs Potter---------------------------------





	Safe - A Sirius Black Oneshot

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration for this came from a beautiful drawing/sketch/cartoon which I saw on Pinterest a while ago. I think the original came from Tumblr but I have since been unable to find it, so don't have a name who I can credit with inspiration for this little ficlet. If anyone happens to think that they know the name of the original artist please let me know so that I can give credit to the person who inspired this (I think the original was a sketch/cartoon comparing the differences between James' Mum and Sirius' Mother).
> 
> Enjoy!

 

 

Crash!

 

Sirius stumbled as his foot caught on the rug, the ornate glass bowl he was carrying slipped from his fingers and smashed on the floor and he fell onto the shards of broken glass, his t-shirt offering his arms no protection.

 

Footsteps came running towards the room and Sirius leapt up off the floor, scrabbling to pick up the pieces of the bowl. Mrs Potter hurried into the room.

"What on earth was that?!”

Sirius was on his hands and knees and froze as she spoke.

"Mrs Potter, I am so so sorry, it was an accident, I didn't mean to-"

 

_"I'm sorry Mother, I didn't mean to break it, I tripped and it shattered."_

_"Idiot boy!" There was a large crack as her hand collided with his cheek and his head whipped backwards._

 

Mrs Potter took a step towards him, "Sirius," he stood up slowly and walked timidly over to her and stopped a short distance away from her. She couldn't understand what was wrong, she wasn't angry about the bowl, it didn't matter; she couldn't understand why Sirius was shaking. She lifted a hand to rest it on his shoulder. Sirius flinched and recoiled from the hand, ducking his head and moving to shield his face from the expected blow.

Mrs Potter froze, horrified.

Sirius was shaking and unable to look her in the eye.

 

_"You useless, good-for-nothing brat! Look what you've done you fool! That is a Black family heirloom and look what you've done!" Again her hand collided with his cheek. "Clear it up, and then get out of my sight." Sirius hurried to clear the remains of the vase and then fled to his bedroom, sobbing as he nursed his bleeding hands and bruising face._

"Oh, Sirius!" Mrs Potter had tears in her eyes.

Sirius looked at her, stunned at her expression.

"Oh, Sirius, please don't be afraid of me, I'm not angry with you."

"Y- Y- You're not?"

"No, of course I'm not."

"But- But, Mrs Potter, I broke the bowl."

"That doesn't matter, that doesn't matter at all."

"No, Mrs Potter, I don't think you understand."

"What don't I understand, dear?"

"I broke the bowl."

"I know."

"So, why aren't you angry? I- I- broke something: You- You- should.... You should be angry or something..."

"Oh, Sirius!" Mrs Potter was crying now but still trying to smile at the frightened teenager, "No, I'm not. It was just a bowl, it doesn't matter!"

Sirius' hands were still shaking.

"So- so You're not going to... You're not going to punish me then?"

A little sob rose in Mrs Potter's throat, "No. No, I'm not."

Sirius nodded very slowly, trying to understand why she wasn't angry. She should be angry: his mother had always hit him when he'd made a mistake, but Mrs Potter wasn't and he couldn't understand why not. He raised a hand to run it through his hair.

"Oh Merlin!" Mrs Potter gasped and took a sudden step towards the boy.

Sirius leapt back and cringed again, closing his eyes, but no blow came. Slowly he opened one eye to see Mrs Potter standing with her hand to her mouth shocked at his reaction to her sudden movement.

"Oh, Sirius, I'm sorry! It's just, your hands: you're hurt."

Sirius looked down, as if noticing his bleeding arms for the first time: unsure of what to do, he tried to hide them behind his back, worried that Mrs Potter would be upset or angry about them.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly, looking at his feet.

"Oh, no, darling, don't apologise! I was only worried that you were hurt; come with me, I'll bandage them for you."

She slowly held out a hand to Sirius and he slowly stepped forward and took it. She led him into the bathroom where she sat him down and smiled and talked to him as she cleaned and bandaged his cuts.

 

Slowly Sirius began to relax and he started smiling. When Mrs Potter had finished she smiled and kissed the bandage: "There we go, all better."

Sirius looked at her, bemused, but grinning. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it, Darling, you're safe here."

 

They spent that afternoon together, talking but not discussing the events that had triggered his reaction. She desperately wanted to know but knew enough, from James, of Sirius' background that she could take a guess, she knew that eventually he would tell her, but for now she just wanted to make sure he felt safe and as he spent that afternoon with her, talking and laughing, he did. He was utterly confused by everything that she had done that afternoon: her lack of anger, the way she had bandaged and kissed his arm, the way she called him 'Darling'. It was, all of it, strange and alien to him, but, he thought, he quite liked it and he was beginning to feel something that he had only ever before felt when at Hogwarts Castle with the Marauders: he felt safe. 


End file.
